Thank you!

I've just said this in an email, and I want to say it directly to all my BlueNC friends:

THANK YOU to everyone who supported my run for the office of North Carolina's Lieutenant Governor!

And thanks to everyone who participated in the democratic process, regardless of who you supported. This has been an extraordinary election year so far, and it is not over yet.

You have already changed the face of public debate in our state. From now forward, candidates for statewide office in North Carolina will have to address an expanded set of fundamental questions.

Certainly, economic opportunity, jobs, and basic educational quality will continue to be must-address needs. In addition, from this year forward, Democratic candidates must respond to these critical questions as well:
· How will we ensure that every person in our state receives the health care (including mental health care) that basic human compassion and dignity require?
· How will we protect our clean air and water, and our green and productive land, in ways that will ensure that we are good stewards for future generations?
· How will we ensure that economic and educational opportunity is spread to historically disadvantaged communities, reaching out to every racial and ethnic community in our state?
· How will we continue to expand the umbrella of fundamental human and civil rights to include every person, regardless of gender or sexual orientation?
· How will we meet the needs of every worker in our state to fair wages, safe and healthy workplaces, and economic security?
· How will we address the changing face of our state's cities and towns, to meet the challenges of growth?
I look forward to continuing to work with all of you, this year and beyond, to see that those questions are addressed, and never fade back into the unspoken background of unmet needs.

I have congratulated Walter Dalton and his family and staff for their dignified and successful campaign, and assured him that as our Democratic nominee he will have my strong personal support. I congratulate Pat Smathers and Hampton Dellinger and their families and supporters as well—good, issue-oriented, strong campaigns all!

I especially want to thank everyone who worked with me over the past year and a half:
--My own family—Kay, my parents, and all our family members—whose support and belief made it possible for me to run.
--My extraordinary staff and other volunteers--Christine Toole, Frank Eaton, Jack Campbell, Phillip Gilfus, Eric Brown, Mike Oder, Keith Stone and everyone else--if I don't stop listing folks who deserve to be listed I will never finish this--who worked tirelessly and with great skill against long financial odds.
--My enthusiastic and delightful supporters around our state, who spoke up with passion for our campaign and the concerns which we are committed to seeing addressed.
--My financial contributors (often the same as the first three groups!) who made it possible to physically run a campaign and get our message out around the state.
--The outstanding organizations who believed in our cause and stuck your necks way out against the odds to say so: Progressive Democrats, Conservation Council, Sierra Club, Fire Fighters, Black Pastors, Democracy for America; and to the media organizations who said, we like his message and give this guy a chance: The Chronicle, Yes! Weekly, and Winston-Salem Journal.

So to close a long and heart-felt letter, I say once again:
Thank you! Thank you to all for your enthusiasm and active participation!

Please stay involved, as will I. I look forward to continuing public service as a Winston-Salem City Council Member and active citizen in our state and nation.

I'd say, "I'll be back..."—but I'm not going away in the first place!

Dan